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The title “Municipal Manager” used in a candidate statement for the San Gabriel City Council election has left members of the Chinese-American community feeling misled due to a translation they say that implies that the candidate is also the city manager.
Jorge Herrera Avila is one of five candidates running for two available seats on the San Gabriel City Council.
The other candidates include incumbent Tony Ding, Carina Rivera, Jeanne Raya and Isela Lopez Bowles.
In a written statement, Avila provided a photo of a business card from his former employer, Republic Services, which lists his title “Municipal Manager.”
“This is a political attack from my opponents and their team,” Avila said in a statement. “Currently, we are actively seeking legal action to ensure accountability, protect the integrity of this election, my personal integrity, and the well-being of my family.”
He said he submitted the title for his candidate statement but never claimed in any way to be the city manager of San Gabriel.
“The translation of this statement into Spanish and Chinese by the County is beyond the candidate’s control,” Avila’s statement read.
Avila said during a recent candidate forum that he no longer works for Republic Services.
I-Chinese American Political Action Committee (IAPAC) Friday, Oct. 18, held a press conference and released a statement addressing concerns about the translations, which they said has confused voters.
“There is no alternative wording for city manager in Chinese and this gives the impression that our current city manager is running for office,” IAPAC Vice Chairman Zig Jiang said.
On the ballot, Avila is referred to in English as a Municipal Sales Manager. His candidate statement translates Municipal Manager into “municipal/city manager” in Chinese, according to Frank Yeh, honorary chairman of the IAPAC.
“Most Chinese voters have a high regard for this title and may vote for whoever holds it,” Jiang said. “This creates an unfair election.”
Five people, including IAPAC members, brought up the concern during the public comment period of the Tuesday, Oct. 15, San Gabriel City Council meeting.
“We are not targeting any particular candidate,” Yeh said. “We are simply stating the facts.”
Two days later, the city of San Gabriel sent a letter to the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder informing them of the confusion.
City Clerk Sharon Clark wrote that when Avila submitted his papers to run for office, he requested “Municipal Manager” be the ballot designation to represent his job title for a local waste hauler.
“I denied his ballot designation on the grounds it might mislead the public,” Clark wrote.
Avila’s second choice of “Municipal Sales Manager” was accepted. Clark passed along the concerns brought up during public comment.
“At the meeting we were informed that when translated into (Mandarin/Cantonese) his title became ‘City Manager,’” Clark wrote. “I have subsequently been informed that this error may have been repeated in some other translations.”
Michael Sanchez, a spokesperson for the County Registrar-Recorder’s Office, said in a statement Friday, Oct. 18, that in San Gabriel, candidate statements are submitted to and approved by the city clerk.
The statements are subject to a public review period prior to approval, Sanchez said. Once approved, the statements are translated.
“The County cannot legally change a statement submitted by the candidate and approved by the filing officer,” Sanchez said.
David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, said it is the government’s responsibility to make sure election materials are as accessible for non-English speakers as they are for English speakers.
“People who don’t speak English are just as entitled to participate in the process as people who do speak English,” Snyder said.
Matthew Jarvis, a professor of politics, administration and justice at Cal State Fullerton said Southern California is only rivaled by New York City in terms of a diversity of languages spoken, but even more unique because of the breadth of unique languages spoken that are not similar to each other.
“When you get to languages that are just so distinct and different, English and Chinese and Tagalog and Swahili or something, there’s not a common frame of reference,” Jarvis said. “Translation errors I would imagine are more problematic in the Southern California context and more common just because the languages don’t come from the same family.”
Avila ran unsuccessfully for City Council in the 2022 election. IAPAC has endorsed Ding and Rivera for City Council.
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